1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to communication systems and more particularly to systems for providing alert broadcasting.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is becoming increasingly important and desirable for societal authorities, such as municipal governments, universities, hospitals, the police, and security firms in large office buildings to be able to notify the people in the area under their control of a specific and unexpected danger. For example, if there is a school shooting, a hostage-taking, a fire, a hazardous chemical spill, a gas leak, an Amber Alert for a missing child, or any other event where the danger relates to a person's proximity, it is crucial that the authorities be able to communicate with as many people in the area as possible in order to warn them, to give them instructions as to how best to avoid the danger, and how to avoid causing a diversion of the authorities' resources by becoming entangled in the initial danger or by creating a new peril.
Unfortunately, known systems, such as public radio or television broadcasts, are typically directed to a fixed and limited set of communications devices and do not, therefore, take into account the modern reality that people use of a variety of different communications devices depending on the context. For example, in the case of a school shooting at a university, the police or university security service may broadcast a warning via the university radio or television stations; however, a student studying in a quiet corner of a basement room of a campus library might not receive this warning, and might not be noticed by campus security or passers-by. Unless the student fortuitously encounters another person who has heard the warning, he or she might remain oblivious to a danger which is perilously close. Although the student might possess some other means of communication (e.g. a cellular telephone, or a laptop computer connected via WiFi to the school's network), the availability of such means are of little value if the authorities are not equipped to broadcast alerts through such communications means in an efficient and reliable manner.
There is, therefore, a need for a solution that provides for broadcasting alerts to a plurality of diverse communications devices, whether the devices are mobile or stationary, through a plurality of diverse communications means. It would include means for identifying appropriate recipients in connection with each type of communications device, such as by selection from a list or by determining each recipient's presence in a particular area. The solution should be configured to maximally utilize the capabilities of any device type, but also take into account the limitations presented by any other device type, and specifically should be capable of transmitting images or documents when available. It would also be desirable for such a solution to be able to confirm receipt of the alert, to allow a response from the recipient to the broadcast source to give situational intelligence, and to allow a two-way discussion between the broadcast source and recipients to help direct them through the emergency. Furthermore, it should not enable a new pathway for “spam” or other unsolicited or undesirable information to reach the user.
Such a solution would also be useful for community-oriented, non-emergency situations, such as public announcement alerts in schools, from police about traffic situations, etc.